X201 on best touch pad list ...

??

I have an X201s and while I love my Thinkpad X201s this literally has to be one of the worst touch pads I have used on a laptop It does work but it is not nearly as nice as the touch pad on my new MBP. It is small,does not scroll well or do anything right compared to the one on my MBP. Either that or the touch pad on the MBP really spoils people

Review here from Cnet asia:

The best (and worst) laptop touchpads - CNET Asia

 

99% hardcore Thinkpad users forget how to use touchpad, they use trackpoint instead.

anyway, I must admit that I don't believe reviews on CNET, PCWorld,...

 

I thought the red button was for the air bag.

 

I just use that red little button

 

I have a X201s also and while I never use the touchpad, I think it does the job well. The only problem I have with it is that it's too small.
BTW I do think the MBP's touchpad is one of the best there is. So you being spoiled. But after using the trackpoint for a couple months, my fingers are too lazy to use a touchpad lol

 

The X series did not use to have a touchpad so some people must have been complaining about wanting one so lenovo squeezed one in there. It is unfortunate that it isn't of very good quality, but I am curious if any ultraportable has a very good touchpad. I've certainly seen larger touchpads on other small laptops but they still aren't great and I still find the trackpoint to be much more precise.

 

I don't know that complained is the right word. If you don't like them, it's a significant issue, which costs Lenovo sales. I think they should do both. Have a X20x machine with a trackpad only, which would make the touchpad bigger and more usable. Then have a stick only machine for the traditionalists. Right now it's a compromise that satisfies no one. The stickers don't like having the pad there and the stick buttons cut into the real estate on the pad, which cuts the usability.

 

is the palmrest between the x200 and x201 interchangeable? if it is, then your problem is solved.

 

There's no touchpad port on the X200 motherboard. Even if it fits, it's a no go and still doesn't solve what I said.

 

But if the palmrest on the X200 fits on the X201, then you could get the touchpad less palmrest and put it on the X201 to satisfy the trackpoint traditionalist.

Also, a thinkpad doesn't have a Trackpoint... doesn't seem to be a good idea. Having to produce two type of keyboards for a single series of machine would add significant cost to the X201... don't think Lenovo can make a business case for such a modification.

Also, the touchpad on the x201/s/t isn't that bad, it is akin to the T60/T61 touchpad, obviously it is not as good as the MBP, don't think any laptop companies have a touchpad that matches MBP.

 

You can already get a trackpadless X201. If you're selling a few million machines, I don't think would be prohibitively expensive, but I don't work in the industry. Hard to say.

 

I don't think it is a compromise that hurts trackpoint users. You can configure it sans trackpad or disable it. It is more a compromised trackpad.

 

a few million machines for the total thinkpad line, not X201 laptop.

If people are that much in love with Trackpad, then they should consider a Macbook Pro 13 inch.

If Lenovo is going to charge 50 dollars extra for the trackpointless X201, then i think lot of people will not take up the option, and Lenovo would have to absorb the cost or past it to consumers in other ways.

Unless Lenovo can provide a trackpad that is as good as the Macbook pro's one on the X20x, then it should even contemplate a trackpad only Thinkpad.

 

No AFFS screen on the MBP, at least not yet. A lot of people who are die hard stickers might pay something extra for a trackpadless palm rest and it costs less to make as it's essentially a piece of plastic.

 

For any new features to be included in laptops, the product design team has to make a business case to the higher management... so for every 100 good ideas, only a couple will probably end up in the new product release, because they are considered a money spinner, a clear product advantage over the competitor, and/or add to the halo effect of the product or brand.

 

the trackpoint always get is the way during typing

 

Does the trackpoint always getting in the way of your typing? But you use an external Filco keyboard, so it is a non-issue for you. Also, how often do you use the tablet mode of your laptop?

 

You are comparing the best trackpad in the current laptop market to a trackpad found in an ultraportable... you do the math.

 

I don't think a touchpad should be offered on the X-series. Ultraportables require compromise...you can't get a 15" screen on an X series, you can't get discrete graphics on an X series, so I don't see any reason why we need touchpads on them. If someone really needs some particular feature like a touchpad, there are plenty of other series and/or companies to choose from.

 

I actually find the relatively tiny touchpad pretty usable, and that's coming from someone who still is forced to spend a good deal of time on Macbook Pros / Airs. I also really like the configuration options for it, which I actually use - unlike most of the 'look what I can do' largely irrelevant (because the applications are too spurious) multitouch features of the Apple trackpad. The huge trackpoint buttons are actually the bigger problem for me. I really wish they could go or be made smaller and the touchpad could be moved up a bit.

 

Maybe when my Uncle's X201t arrives I can do a comparison, I find Vogelbung's post interesting because his preference almost matches that to the trackpoint system found on a Dell I used previously.

I tried my friends Dell Latitude XT2 12.1" tablet and being a trackpoint user I loathed on what they had done to it on that system. I find the buttons far too flat, small and too close to the spacebar on the keyboard to make it feel comfortable from using. The mouse click action is actually inversed compared the ThinkPad which felt really odd. It was so frustrating and uncomfortable that I had to resort to using the trackpad on that system, it felt like it was tacked on the system as an afterthought. The trackpad is not bad but I felt I was forced to use it rather than being given the choice of my preference. I don't know, maybe the Dell XT2 I was using was geared for its trackpad users while the Lenovo X201 is geared for its trackpoint users more better?

 

No other business laptop has a comparable trackpoint type input device in my experience. Which is unfortunate that I use Dell Latitudes for work . I just use the trackpad and don't enjoy it.

 

Only when I'm at home I get to used the Filco, I can't use Filco in class or in the library coz they're so heavy and loud...

And about the tablet mode, I used it less than 1% of the time. Tablet mode ain't practical at all due to the weight of the x200t, better off with ipad imo. I be getting the non tablet x-series or T-series in the future.

 

what drove you to get a tablet in the first place? FYI currently Lenovo.com.au is retailing the X200s for $999 AUD. So maybe you should just sell your X200t and get the x200s.

 

what's the point changing now? selling and buying virtually the same laptop. have you considered the transaction cost?

 

I think you would get couple of hundreds dollar back from selling the x200t and getting a x200s.

 

I have been using my X201 with a touchpad for about a month now. To me, the the touchpad is perfectly usable. No complaints.

 

I think you could say the same for the trackpad to be honest - the Dells need a lot of playing around before I can get the trackpad to be 'good'. Possibly the same for the trackpoints, although I usually always turn them off.

 

I got my Uncle's X201t, impressed it took just 6 days for them to build and ship it from China to UK! (Tuesday 3rd -> Monday 9th). It was so quick, I didn’t even have a tracking number sent to me!

The trackpoint on the X201t is great to use as expected, but I can see why some people are not so enthusiastic with the touchpad. The trackpoint buttons do get in the way of vertical scrolling on the touchpad and the buttons are tiny.

I got some pics in comparison to my friends Dell XT2, the touchpad on that is better than the X201t in my opinion due to the bigger buttons and spacing, but the trackpoint is much, much better on the X201T due to the raised buttons which has better feel.

 

The trackpad response and the size is something I have very few problems with. Only the location is a bit of an issue.

There are more pressing issues - e.g. I still find it hard to get used to the carbuncular body of the machine as I fish it out of my bag. And the accelerometer is way too sensitive / inaccurate even after very careful calibration: All too often I find myself staring at an upside-down screen, upon which I have to press the orientation key several times - after which Explorer more often than not decides to crash.

Y'know, this whole tablet business has certainly got more practically useful thanks to more horsepower and better apps (all, oooh, 6 of them that are touch/pen-aware ), but the attendant issues of third-party touchware contributing to system instability and also the (relative non-)usability of Windows as a touch platform hasn't really progressed since my Tosh M200 days.